Network theory can be traced back to Simmel (Aldrich and Kim, 2007), who develops a structural analytical approach to delineate the properties of small groups and social situations that affect behavior across a range of social contents. Network studies thrive across sociology, anthropology, political science, strategic and organizational studies, and entrepreneurship. In sociology, network theory seeks to understand social life through the patterns and process of social relations. A social relationship can be viewed as an opportunity for social interaction, a history of shared experience, and a means of need-satisfaction. .
A social network is a collection of connected social relationships. If a set of relationships is connected in a regular way in the pursuit of common ends, so that a significant portion of actors' shared experience and memory stems from these activities, one speaks more precisely of a corporation or organization. Take "friends" as an example of network, the accommodation of personal interest as a form of collective ends is central to the existence and extension of the network. .
One of the main characteristics that make the social network a distinct level of social structure above social relationships could be the enhancement of power, prestige, and opportunity that accrues to different positions within a social network. Moreover, scholars across various disciplines apply the concepts and frameworks of network to organizations, extending network theory to inter-organizational and intra-organizational levels of analysis. .
Antecedents of Social Networks.
Antecedents of social networks can be found in social psychology and anthropology (Borgatti et al., 2009). Network analysis in social science develops graphical, theoretic, and numeral/mathematical approaches for studying the intricacies of network structures (Moreno, 1934). The use of mathematically based models facilitates the representation of and understandings on the linkages among relationships within a single network and between multiple networks.
